Natural Hair and Body Care Products FROM THE KITCHEN TO A HOUSE OF BRANDS

Relaxed Hair

American Natural Hair

Our Natural Hair

My Own Kind Of Beautiful AfroBotanics gives women option to wear hair natural by providing quality products for long term results as well as education on science of black hair African Hair is curly, coily therefore very dry, coarse, brittle, breaks Lack of understanding about science of black hair amongst black women For historical reasons, black beauty not accepted Thinking hair can be uniform, even amongst black women hair differs Can’t change genetic make-up of hair Imagine really hating a part of yourself?

African Inspired Passionate about African history and culture – Inspired by my Grandma the Healer Passionate about Africa women, we celebrate African women Passionate about hair, one of women’s best accessory We use old age African oil infused hair formulations – used for centuries Inspired to produce that which we use Changing the definition of beauty is about affirming a whole continent = Africa Rising!

Our Journey Started in 2011 in Nelspruit with retirement money Moved to Joburg 2012 to pursue national retail chain listing Listed with Game 2014 only stocked in December 2015 starting in 20 stores Vision – To be the leading African premium mass natural beauty brand Currently in 600 Clicks, Game, Jumbo and Pick n Pay Stores and 8 African countries We have spent a lot of time and resources on getting our packaging design right and brand positioning right and just being retail ready including getting barcoding right

Branding

Our Journey

Our Journey R240,000.00 starting capital Business plan didn’t work out, growth was too small Hadn’t thought about distribution – explored salon route, network marketing route Cashstrapped! Started outsourcing but turned to manufacturing because funders want that Approached State funders because no assets to leverage manufacturing much harder because it pushed up our costs

Our Journey Getting logistics sorted was easier and costs related to delivering to DC have been easier Moved to Joburg 2012 to pursue national retail chain listing Listed with Game 2014 only stocked in December 2015 starting in 20 stores Vision – To be the leading African premium mass natural beauty brand Currently in 600 Clicks, Game and Pick n Pay Stores and 8 African countries

Challenges Understanding how retail works – trading terms etc Costly mistakes – incorrect pricing Funding for scaling – 28 stores – 300 stores Getting right systems in place and economies of scale Access to market Lack of access to information – Information very expensive

Solutions Support from retailers – Massmart and Clicks Still self-funded and 100% owned Constantly seeking new brand positioning Community building not just sales Improving efficiency, saving costs - cheaper inputs Pushing for growth – economies of scale Working with what we have e.g. marketing

Making A Difference Never too small to give back African businesses have an inherent duty to give back We are funding the establishment of an aloe vera farm in Makapanstad with unemployed youth. The economy and actors in the economy has to grow, it’s in business best interest Also working with an NGO in the Early Childhood Development sector